Carrying bag construction



Jan. 17,-1967 M. KlsH, JR 3,298,430

CARRYING BAG CONSTRUCTION Filed May s, 1965 2 sheets-sheet 1 M A RZ 7Mwf a [W ,N @7, w WH M H K [y f M E a i `Y W, B w f m .J 7 5J w L y N l jy y 1%. 3 d 7 5 2 2,V f 5 1 2 3 v I I Ji Y nu Jan. 17, 1967 M. KlsH, JR

l CARRYING BAG CONSTRUCTION Filed May s, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 74 f /Wi, |/J`| mm, u@ 7 United States Patent O 3,298,480 CARRYING BAGCONSTRUCTION Michael Kish, Jr., Hightstown, NJ., assignor to AtlanticProducts Corporation, Trenton, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey FiledMay 5, 1965, Ser. No. 453,296

4 Claims. (Cl. 190-54) This invention relates to a novel carrying bagconstruction wherein the main frame is pre-formed of a rigid rectangular`body having a suitable covering means thereon -and suitable hardwaredirectly secured thereto which is thereafter `assembledwith front andrear panels of novel construction.

This application is =an improvementof my copending application SerialNo. 387,390, filed August 4, 1964, which is directed to a novel methodof manufacture for carrying luggage, wherein the assembly of the mainframe of the luggage is carried out in the fiat with a central metallicsupport receiving all of the various hardware for the bag.

The present invention is directed to a novel construction for bags ofthis general type where, however, the main frame is formed of a rigidrectangular cylinder which has finishing materials applied thereto alongwith hardware, and thereafter receives the front and rear panels in anovel manner.

Moreover, an additional feature of the invention involves the use of anovel welt for the connection of the rear panels in the main bag bodyand a novel zipper construction for the front panel.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a novel carrying bagconstruction which is inexpensive.

An-other object of this invention is to provide a novel construction forcarrying bags wherein the main frame of the -bag is a single pre-formedrectangular tube which is completely finished prior to the assemblage offront and rear panels.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel zipper panelfor luggage.

A further object of this invention 1s to provide a novel welt for thesecurement of front and rear panels to a preassembled miain frame.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing description when taken in connection with the drawings, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a rigid rectangular tube whichforms the body of the main frame of the carrying `bag of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side View of the tube of FIGURE 1 afterv the connection ofinterior and exterior finishing strips and various hardware to the mainframe, thereby to completely finish the main frame structure.

FIGURE 3 is a bottom View of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional View of FIGURE 3 across the lines 5 5 inFIGURE 3 to illustrate the connection of one leg to the main frame.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the main frame, connectingwelts and front and rear panels.

FIGURE 7 is -a cross-sectional view of the welts of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is'a `plan View of the coil zipper used in accordance with theinvention.

FIGURE 9 illustrates the front panel containing a Zipper therein whenassembled with the panel flap and zipper of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional View of the assembled front flap ofFIGURE 9 after it has been sewn to its connecting welt.

FIGURE 11 is an end View partially in cross-section ofthe completelyassembled bag to illustrate the manner "ice in which the subassembledpanel and welt is connected lto the finished frame of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a modification of the assembly of panel and weltwhich includes a plastic inwardly curved strip to cover the sewnjunction between the main bag body of FIGURE 2 and the welt and panel.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, I have illustrated therein 'a rectangulartube 20 which can, for example. be of laminated wood wherein the ends ofa sheet are bent to form in a suitable manner and joined along anelongated junction 2l in any desired manner.

The techniques for fabricating a wooden frame in this manner are wellknown and such frames are commercially available. Alternatively,however, a finished tube can be formed of any other desired materialsuch as any of the thermoplastics, or fiber materials. The thickness ofthe frame 20 is suiiicient to provide substantially all of themechanical strength required of the carrying bag and can, for example,'be Ms thick when made of wood or fiber.

Such frames are commonly used as the main support body of carrying bags.In the past, and in order to finish the bag, the rear panel of the bagis subassembled with a tubular finishing material, and the tubularfinishing material is forced over the top of the frame 20. Thereafter,the various hardware required was secured tothe frame and the oppositepanel for finishing the bag was sewn to the edge of the tubularfinishing material covering the frame. This type construction leads tomany manufacturing problems since the tubular finishing material must bestretched over the frame.

The principle of one aspect of the present invention is to completelyfinish the frame prior to the connection of panels thereto andthereafter securing the panels to the frame in a novel manner. Moreparticularly, and as shown in FIGURE 2, the frame 20 first has an outerfinishing strip 22 of any suitable material laminated thereto as bycementing, thereby defining the completely finished outer frameappearance. Note that the finishing strip 22 overlaps on the junction 23where this overlap could be left as is or covered with a suitablefinishing strip. 'An interior lining 22a is similarly applied as bycementing to the interior of the bag, defining the finished lining inthe frame section of the bag.

Thereafter, la carrying -handle 24 is secured to the top of the bag(FIGURE 4) as by rivets 25 and 26 which suitably engage hardware element29 and rivets 27 and 2S which suitably engage hardware element 30. Thehardware elements 29 and 30 then pivotally mount the carrying handle 31.Thereafter, the four legs 32 through 35 are secured to the bottom of thebag by suitable rivets such as the rivets 36 and 37 which engage legs 33and' 35, respectively.

If desired, a suitable pocket commonly found at the base of luggage ofthis type can also be secured to the base of frame 20 by passing therivets such as rivets 36 Iand 37 which secure legs 33 through 35 throughthe corners of such a pocket.

FIGURE 5 illustrates in detail the manner in which the legs aresupported to the frame. It will be noted that the rivets 25 through 28which engage hardware members 29 and 30 are connected in a similarmanner. T-hus, in FIGURE 5, a rivet 38 which is similar to rivet 36 hasan enlarged head which engages the outer surface of lining 22a. The mainbody of the rivet then passes directly through lining 22a (and anypocket that may be at the bottom of the bag), and thence through themain` wooden frame 20, the outer finishing surface 22 and into thecenter of leg 34. Thereafter, the end of the rivet is expand- With thecompletion of the securement of hardware, it will be noted that thisportion of the bag is now cornpletely finished, with the exception ofthe connection of side panels thereto.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the finished assembly ofFIGURE 2 designated by numeral 4t) in FIGURE 6, along with the rearpanel 41, the front panel 42 comprised of panel section 43 and flap 44,and the welts 45 and 46 used for securing panels 41 and 43 to thesubassembled bag frame 44D.

As will be described more fully hereinafter, each of the welts 45 and 46are identical extruded plastic members having a cross-'section shown inFIGURE 7 for the case of welt 46 wherein the welt has two projectingflange surfaces 47 and `48 which define a pocket 49 which will be seenhereinafter to fit over the edge of frame 46. In addition, the extrusionhas a central opening in the main head thereof which receives a metallicreinforcing wire Sil.

As will be further described more fully hereinafter, the flap 44 whichdefines `the main opening into the completed bag is provided With acoiled zipper of the type shown in FIGURE 8. More particularly, thecoiled zipper Of FIGURE 8 is comprised of two adjacent fabric sections60 and 61 which each have a coil of a suitable plastic material such asnylon threaded through their opposing edges. These coils are thensuitably formed to define engaging zipper-type elements which are openedand closed by way of a suitable runner 62 having a pull 63. Zippers ofthis type are well known, and are commercially available at the presenttime.

While certain aspects of the invention are practiced with the use of anytype zipper, one specific aspect of the invention involves the use of acoiled zipper, the coils of which are made of a plastic material such asnylon, whereby the zipper can be cut with simple shearing equipment suchas hand-scissors. Moreover, this type zipper can be sewn across withconventional sewing equipment without the danger of breaking the needleof the sewing l machine on a metal zipper element.

As will be described more fully hereinafter, such zippers are furthercommerically available in long coils which are cut to length by the useras contrasted to the need for purchasing pre-finished metallic zippersin predetermined lengths. Thus, such predetermined lengths of metalzippers have been found commonly to Vary by more than 11/2" in a lengthof the order of 36, thereby complicating manufacturing techniques usingsuc-h zippers.

Referring to FIGURE 9, I have illustrated therein the manner in whichthe flap 44 is connected to panel portion 43. It will be noted that theflap 44 has dimensions greater than the cut-out section in the panelsection 43 so that the edges of the flap 44 will somewhat overlap thecut-out -section of panel 43 by, for example, 1/2.

In assembling these two members, the zipper fabric portions 60 and 61are first sewn to the adjacent edges of tiap 44 and panel portion 43 ina manner disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 387,390, andassigned to the assignee of the present invention. However, ascontrasted to that application, and where a coiled plastic zipper isused, a zipper length greater than the length of the closure is used sothat the zipper ends 64 and 65 overlap the upper edge of panel portions43 and 44. Thereafter, reinforcing stitch lines 66 and 67 are 'sewndirectly across the upper edges of panel portions 43 and 44, thereby toiirmly retain these panel portions in position with respect to oneanother independently of the zipper.

It is to be particularly noted that such an operation could not beperformed with prior art metallic zippers because of the possibility ofbreaking a sewing needle when sewing through a metallic zipper. In thecase of the plastic zipper, however, the sewing needle will pass'directly through the plastic coil without damage to the needle.

Thus, in FIGURE 9, a sufiiciently long length of zipper is cut from areel, it only being necessary that the ends of the zipper will projectbeyond the top of the iiap as shown by projecting ends 64 and 65. Thisis to be contrasted to pre-formed metallic zippers whose lengths canconsiderably vary, thereby result-ing in some cases in an unsightly gapbetween the end of the zipper and the top of the flap formed of panelporti-ons 43 and 44.

Thereafter, `and as shown in FIGURE 10, the preassembled panel portions43 and 44 have their edges sewn to the fiange 47 of welt 46 along thestitch line 47a. Note that this sewing operati-on automatically forcesthe panel edges to ben-d inwardly to deiine a fiange-type arran-gement.M-oreover, the reinforcing wire 5t) in the welt 46 will'hold the panelto its predetermined rectangular shape, thus simplifying subsequentoperations. This welt further serves to reinforce the bag after assemblythereof.

The panel 41 is connected to its welt 45 in an identical manner to thatillustrated in FIGURE 10. Thereafter, the two panels are :assembled withthe finished frame 40, as illustrated in FIGURE 11, wherein the edges offinished frame 40 are unerely inserted into the pockets 49 of welts 45and 46, and sewn thereto. Thus, in FIGURE 11, the left-hand edge offrame 40 is shown as inserted into the pocket 49 of welt 46, and astitch lin-e 51 is passed through the fra-me 40, ange 47 of welt 36 andthe inwardly ybent edge portion lof the panel `form-ed of panel portions43 and 44.

In an identical Imanner, the welt 45 permits securement of th-eright-hand end of bag 40` to the panel 41 `as by the exposed stitch line52. Note that stitch line 51 will also fbe exposed in the yfinished bag.

FIGURE 12 lshows a further modification of the rnanner in whichsecurement between frame 40 and the subassernbled welt and panel maytake place for the case of panel 44 wherein 4a pre-stressed plasticstrip 60a is used which will curve over the final stitch line, therebyt-o protect the final stitch line. Thus, in FIGURE l2, when the edge ofsubassembled frame 40 is placed within the pocket 49, an elongated strip60a of plast-ic material is also inserted into the pocket. The pocketstrip 60a is then flexed outwardly t-o the position shown in the dottedlines in FIGURE 12, and the stitch line 51 is made through the strip60a, lframe 40, flange 47 and the panel. The strip 60a is then released,and will curve inwardly and over the surface of `frame 40 which carriesthe stitch line 51. In a similar manner, the stitch line 52 of FIG- URE11 would be covered by .a similar inwardly curved Strip.

Although this invention has been ldescribed with respect to itspreferred embodiments, it should be understood that many variations andmodifications will now be obvi-ous to those skilled in the art, and itis preferred, therefore, that the scope of the invention -be limited notby the specific disclosure herein, but -only by the appendedV claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege orproperty is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A carrying case co-mprising a generally tubular frame, carryinghandle tmeans connected to a central portion of said tubular frame,`front :and rear side panels of flexible material extending across theopposite ends of said tubular yframe and first and second identical weltmeans connecting the periphery of said front and rear panels to theperiphery of the said opposite ends of said rigid frame; each of saidfi-rst and second welt means bein-g identical in construction; each ofsaid welts having first and second extending fianges, said `first angesof said first and second welts extending .along the inner surfaces lofsaid opposite ends of said frame; said second iianges extending over theouter surfaces of said opposing said lfraime, said dirst flange of saidsecond welt and the periphery of said rear panel; said second flanges ofsaid first :and s-econd welts extending over the louter surface of saidopposite end of said frame; said irst and second stitch lines spacedfrom the ends of said second flanges lof said lirst and second welts,respectively; and'iirst and second laterally coiled plastic stripssecured to said `trarne by .said rst and sec-ond stitch lines; onelateral side of said rst and second strips captured beneath said secondilanges of said first `and second welts, respectively; the oppositelateral side of said first and second strips coiling over theirrespect-ive iirst and secon-d stitch line.

2. A carrying case comprising a generally tubular fra-me, 'carryinghandle means connected to a central portion of said tubular iframe,.front and rear side panels of flexible material extending across theopposite ends of said tubular :frame and rst and second identical weltmeans connecting the periphery of said front and rear panels to theperiphery of the said opposite ends of said rigid frame; each of saidfirst `and second welt means being iden-tical in construction; ea-ch ofsaid welts having lirst and second extending ilanges, said lirst flangesoi said rst and second welts extending along the inner surfaces of saidopposite ends of said `frame; said second anges extending over the outersurfaces of said opposing ends of said frame; and first stitch linemeans extending through one end of .said fra-me, said first ange of saidlirst welt, and the periphery of said first panel; and second stitchline means extending through the other end of said trarne, said irstflange of said second welt and the periphery of said rear panel; saidfront panel comprising a separate lU-shaped central flap portionextending down from one end of said Afront panel and a body portionreceiving said llap portion as a closure; -a coiled plastic zipperconnecting said liap portion to said body portion; said zipperextendin-g along the full length of the junction between said flapportion :and said body portion with both ends of said zipper extending:beyond the said one end of said front panel; said first stitch l-ineextending directly through :said both ends of said zipper.

`nA carrying case comprising a generally tubular frame, carrying handlemeans connecte/d to .a central portion of said tubular frame, frontand'rear side panels of flexible material extending across the oppositeends of said tubular frame and irst and second identical Welt meansconnecting the periphery of said front and rear panels to the peripheryof the said opposite ends of said rigid frame; each of said welts beingidentical in construction; each of said welts having rst :and secondextending flanges; said second flanges extending over the outer surfacesof said opposing ends of said frame; and

first stitch line means ext-ending through one end of said frame, said-lirst liange of said first welt, and the periphery of said front panel;and second stitch line means extending through the other end of saidiframe, said first lian-ge of said second welt, and the periphery ofsaid rear panel; said front panel comprising a separate U-shaped centrallap portion extending down from one end of said front panel and a bodyportion receiving said liap portion as a closure; a coiled plasticzipper connecting said flap portion to said body portion; said Zipperextending along the full length of the `junction between .said flapportion and said body portion with both ends Iof said Zipper extendingbeyond the said one end of said front panel; said first stitch lineextending directly through said both ends of said zipper.

4. A carrying case comprising a generally tubular trarne, `carryinghandle means connected to a central portion of said tubular frame, frontand rear side panels of liexi'ble material extending across the oppositeends of said tubular frame; first stitch line means extending throughone end of said Iframe and the periphery of said front panel; .secondstitch line means extending through the other end of said frame and theperiphery of said rear panel whereby said iirst and second stitch linemeans secure said front and rear panels to said trarne; said front panelcomprising :a separate U-shaped `cen-tral flap portion extending downfrom one end of said front panel and a body portion receiving said apportion as a closure; a coiled plastic Zipper connecting said ap portionto said body; said zipper extending along the full length of thejunction between said flap portion and said body portion with both endsof said zipper extending beyond the said one end or" said front panel;said first stitch line means extending directly through said both endsof said zipper.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,181,91212/i'l939 Ries. 2,263,467 lr11/194,1 Medoff 190-54 2,684,136 7/1954Wheary 190-54 2,746,581 5/ 1956 Ritter 190-41 2,985,265 5/19611 GehireI190---41 3,141,536 7/ 1964 Fulton 190-41 FOREIGN PATENTS 94,7 0'3 9/1959 Norway.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETI, Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner,

1. A CARRYING CASE COMPRISING A GENERALLY TUBULAR FRAME, CARRYING HANDLEMEANS CONNECTED TO A CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR FRAME, FRONT ANDREAR SIDE PANELS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL EXTENDING ACROSS THE OPPOSITE ENDSOF SAID TUBULAR FRAME AND FIRST AND SECOND IDENTICAL WELT MEANSCONNECTING THE PERIPHERY OF SAID FRONT AND REAR PANELS TO THE PERIPHERYOF THE SAID OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID RIGID FRAME; EACH OF SAID FIRST ANDSECOND WELT MEANS BEING IDENTICAL IN CONSTRUCTION; EACH OF SAID WELTSHAVING FIRST AND SECOND EXTENDING FLANGES, SAID FIRST FLANGES OF SAIDFIRST AND SECOND WELTS EXTENDING ALONG THE INNER SURFACES OF SAIDOPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID FRAME; SAID SECOND FLANGES EXTENDING OVER THEOUTER SURFACES OF SAID OPPOSING ENDS OF SAID FRAME; AND FIRST STITCHLINE MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH ONE END OF SAID FRAME, SAID FIRST FLANGE OFSAID FIRST WELT, AND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID FIRST PANEL; AND SECONDSTITCH LINE MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH THE OTHER END OF SAID FRAME, SAIDFIRST FLANGE OF SAID SECOND WELT AND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID REAR PANEL;SAID SECOND FLANGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND WELTS EXTENDING OVER THEOUTER SURFACE OF SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID FRAME; SAID FIRST AND SECONDSTITCH LINES SPACED FROM THE ENDS OF SAID SECOND FLANGES OF SAID FIRSTAND SECOND WELTS, RESPECTIVELY; AND FIRST AND SECOND LATERALLY COILEDPLASTIC STRIPS SECURED TO SAID FRAME BY SAID FIRST AND SECOND STITCHLINES; ONE LATERAL SIDE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND STRIPS CAPTURED BENEATHSAID SECOND FLANGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND WELTS, RESPECTIVELY; THEOPPOSITE LATERAL SIDE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND STRIPS COOLING OVER THEIRRESPECTIVE FIRST AND SECOND STITCH LINE.